I think that may be true, but out of context...remember, most slaves had RECENTLY been forced from Africa...we're talking about the slaves during the civil war having grandparents who had been from Africa. It would be reasonable, therefor, that Lincoln would consider returned blacks to their homeland...

Sun Oct 13, 2002 1:23 pm

Fladlien

Joined: 09 Jul 2002
Posts: 782
Location: Iowa

What did most slaves do you when they were freed? Well at first, nobody told them so they went on thinking they weren't free for a while. Then when they found out that they were indeed free, you know what they then did? Almost all of them stayed on the plantation they were slaves of. That's how the system was set up. To set them free in a way that would keep them locked up. Free was just a loaded word.

Sun Oct 13, 2002 1:31 pm

prolifik

Joined: 02 Oct 2002
Posts: 488

The Emancipation Proclamation was a political move? Hahaha. Umm.. Public schools are obviously failing us.

Nobody was in favor of the Emancipation Proclamation, neither Democrats or Northern Republicans. There was absolutely zero political capital to be gained in freeing the slaves. In fact, the Emancipation Proclamation was seen as the biggest political mistake that Lincoln ever made, and many thought that it doomed his chances at reelection. The bottom line of the Emancipation Proclamation comes down to the fact that the war was in jeopardy, and blacks had been flooding north. Seeing that the Union could never be reuintited in it's current condition, Lincoln decided that society must be changed, and slavery must end. It was not much of a strategic blow to the south because the annaconda plan had worked to block southern ports, so exportation of cotton was non existant. The slave-cotton economy had already come to a stand still. Most Northerners didn't agree with the Emancipation Proclamation, and it's safe to say that no Southerners did. The only reason Lincoln was reelected was because Grant had made some startling victories in the West, and the tide of the war seemed to be turning. And yes, in the historical context of the mid 19th century, the word "nigger" was the most common word used to describe a black person, and was not as derogatory as the word is today.

Last edited by prolifik on Sun Oct 13, 2002 2:07 pm; edited 1 time in total

Sun Oct 13, 2002 1:32 pm

prolifik

Joined: 02 Oct 2002
Posts: 488

Fladlien wrote: What did most slaves do you when they were freed? Well at first, nobody told them so they went on thinking they weren't free for a while. Then when they found out that they were indeed free, you know what they then did? Almost all of them stayed on the plantation they were slaves of. That's how the system was set up. To set them free in a way that would keep them locked up. Free was just a loaded word.

Goddamn morons, you just don't stop. There was no "master plan" (no pun intended), to KEEP SLAVES ON PLANTATIONS. They were FREE, but a lot of them were too skeptical or weary to pick up and move north. They had grown up in the South and lived their entire lives there as farmers, so many simply stayed out of practicality. Share cropping was indeed shitty, but it was *not* slavery. Blacks made wages, and their lives improved 150%. And remember, all blacks were free to move north at any time, and many did.

Sun Oct 13, 2002 1:36 pm

Dee

Joined: 19 Jul 2002
Posts: 7872

First off, I agree with your first post comletely.

Your second post is RIGHT, but saying that the guy you quoted's post is wrong is misleading...many blacks were economically locked into the plantations they had originally been slaves of.

Sun Oct 13, 2002 1:53 pm

prolifik

Joined: 02 Oct 2002
Posts: 488

What was misleading, was that guy saying that it was "set up" to keep blacks on plantations. The fact is that most freed slaves only knew how to farm, so many opted to stay where they lived and keep doing what they knew. Lincoln only gave them the opportunity to up and leave, but the choice was left to them. Many blacks did move north and get jobs in the industrial centers, and some went into politics and education.

Sun Oct 13, 2002 2:05 pm

Dee

Joined: 19 Jul 2002
Posts: 7872

OK, I see your point....you're giving them agency, essentially....Good stuff, I agree.

Sun Oct 13, 2002 2:19 pm

JTP

Joined: 09 Jul 2002
Posts: 609

Lincoln was no Great Emancipator. He was a politician in office during a national crisis thrust into a decision he never intended to make. What actually freed the slaves? Well that's easy. Anyone who has taken a junior high or high school government class can regurgatate that it was the 13th Amendment. Who wrote up this amendment? The people you never hear about: the true emancipators who devoted their time and effort solely to freeing the slaves.

Sun Oct 13, 2002 3:26 pm

Dee

Joined: 19 Jul 2002
Posts: 7872

Yeah, you can say that, but I guarantee you that most presidents would NOT have done what Lincoln did...don't demonify him.....democrats and republicans alike were completely against emancipation.

Sun Oct 13, 2002 3:31 pm

karl

Joined: 21 Jul 2002
Posts: 755

you see, now we are all slaves.

Sun Oct 13, 2002 3:51 pm

prolifik

Joined: 02 Oct 2002
Posts: 488

The 13th Amendment freed the slaves? Hahaha. The Emancipation Proclamation (Drafted solely by Lincoln, and against warnings from both major political parties), was given in 1863. Two years before Congress added it to the Constitution. If you live in this country, you might want to know your history. Lincoln was the greatest abolitionist in the history of man.

Sun Oct 13, 2002 4:10 pm

argot

Joined: 01 Jul 2002
Posts: 958
Location: rhode island

prolifik

Prolifik-that was a statement... a statement of fact that i made... how could i not be using my brain?????

Sun Oct 13, 2002 4:14 pm

prolifik

Joined: 02 Oct 2002
Posts: 488

You wouldn't be using your brain if after 150 years of slavery, you expected blacks and whites in the South to immediately start holding hands and singing 'we are the world.'

Sun Oct 13, 2002 4:33 pm

futuristxen

Joined: 01 Jul 2002
Posts: 19377
Location: Tighten Your Bible Belt

prolifik wrote: Lincoln was the greatest abolitionist in the history of man.

Slow down there, Moses. Let's not get carried away here.

Sun Oct 13, 2002 4:33 pm

Dee

Joined: 19 Jul 2002
Posts: 7872

I'd say thats a fair statement...he was the most powerful abolitionist, the one who had the most effect....therefore the greatest.

Sun Oct 13, 2002 4:38 pm

Jump to:

Goto page Previous1, 2, 3, 4Next
All times are GMT - 6 Hours. The time now is Tue Mar 03, 2015 2:37 pm